Mario Alternate: The Palace of Shadow
by justmegaman
Summary: "A nest of shadowy combinations, secret dealings, and vile servants...all led by a wicked queen with the world's darkest heart...that, my friends, is the Palace of Shadow." AU
1. One Year

_The next installment in Mario Alternate. Since I don't consider this a proper sequel, I am declaring it as Mario Alternate 1.5. :p I hope you enjoy it!_

Mario stumbled around in a dark valley, dust kicking up underneath his feet. He was trembling and jittering nervously, his teeth chattering as he stepped around blindly, trying his best to see. He shut his eyes tightly and opened them again, trying to get accustomed to the dark, but it was impossible. No matter what, it was utter blackness on all sides, and Mario couldn't make heads or tails of his surroundings.

Just as he began to give up hope, someone who had pure light radiating from all around their body came walking up to him, a smile set upon their rosy lips. They had fair, ivory skin, gorgeous brown eyes, long flowing blonde hair, and they wore a white bathrobe. Mario squinted at the bright light that they emanated, amazed at how they looked. It was like an angel had come to him so he could see.

However, Mario was a little disturbed by exactly what he saw. Skulls and bones were gathered across the ground, clattering about and shaking upon the slightest gust of wind. There was a broken altar nearby with the bones of an ox lying on top of it. Mario recoiled at the sight of that and stepped back a little, only to bump into the person lighting up the area for him.

"Oh, s-sorry," Mario mumbled gruffly, shuffling his feet away from them.

Oddly enough, the person grinned devilishly, and their face began to melt away, as if it were artificial goo. Mario gasped in shock, jumping backwards as their flesh sunk to the ground and became a pale skin-colored puddle at the person's feet. Beneath was a robotic frame reminiscent of the Terminator's insides.

"W-who are you?" Mario whispered, totally confused. The person threw on a black cloak and put the hood up.

"Missed me, little Salastar?"

* * *

"AAAGGGGGHHHH!" screamed Mario, waking up to find he had thrown off his blanket during the night, was on the hardwood floor, and was chewing a pillow. He moaned upon discovering the truth. Just another nightmare.

Mario slowly climbed to his feet, walking away from his bed to the hall with a slight limp. Ever since his leg had been broken by Tora while it was still healing and still hurt a ton, his leg had been repaired, but he was expected to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. Despite this, he had recently discovered an incredible talent for jumping. How coincidental.

Mario limped up to the mirror in his bathroom, looking into it with boredom. His face seemed gloomier, less bright than it was last year. His mother said he resembled his father more now. He was taller; he had hit 5'4" a few months ago. This was the 14-year-old Mario Salastar, jumping nearly a full year into the future after his defeat of Dragonahah in the Forest of Flames.

Mario washed his face of pesky eye crust and closed the door before taking a shower. After emerging out of the misty steam and getting dressed in his room in the same attire as ever, but now with a chain necklace around his neck, Mario ran downstairs, hurrying for the sweet smell of pancakes and bacon.

"Hey, bro!" shouted Luigi, waving to Mario as he flipped the pancakes. "How ya doin'?" Luigi's newest passion was cooking, and today he was doing it in place of Maria, who had to go to work early that day. She had recently found a job as a mailwoman; simple and tedious, but it put bread on the table.

"Tired," replied Mario, plopping down on one of the stools at the marble kitchen bar. "I had a nightmare. It was…weird. Really weird."

"Really? Wanna talk about it?" Luigi asked in jest. Mario glared at him as he winked at his brother and turned back to the pancakes cooking on a griddle. "Feh. Of course Mr. Grumpy doesn't wanna talk about his feelings. Not even with his dearly loved brother."

Luigi's striking green eyes flicked about from the flapjacks to the eggs, which were ready to stir. Luigi did so, using a wooden spoon to turn around and about in the pan. After about twenty seconds of this, he flipped the huge mass of egg. Once it came back down, Luigi chopped it up into tinier pieces. Deciding they were fluffy and delicious at this point, Luigi poured them onto a plate. He then placed the cooked pancakes on another, then he turned to the bacon.

Mario was a bit shocked at Luigi's astounding speed. He had taken several cooking classes in the recent months to sharpen his skills, and now was a master chef, as he said. Mario usually scoffed at this, but was now finding that there was some truth to his claims.

"Well, food's done!" Luigi exclaimed, flopping the bacon onto yet another plate, this one a large ceramic rather than a slightly sizable plastic one. "Come and get it, Mario. You know you want it oh so badly. My cooking is always delectable." Mario groaned at Luigi's boasting, snatching a plate out of the cabinet and heading to the stove to grab breakfast.

"The pancakes do smell good," mumbled Mario, taking a whiff of them and sighing, quite satisfied. "I have to admit, you did great today, Luigi."

"Today! Pshawwww!" Luigi scoffed, smirking. "I do great EVERY day! I think you just don't wanna admit that your kid brother is, by far, an amazing-"

Mario punched Luigi in the face.

* * *

Mario and Luigi strode along the brick sidewalk, which had been upgraded from basic white-gray pavement a few months back and now looked much fancier. Mario had his hands dug in his pockets, looking around coolly, while Luigi took deep, strong breaths as he powered his arms back and forth, his fists balled up tight. Mario looked over at his brother and noticed that their height difference was obvious. Luigi was a good two, two and a half inches ahead of Mario. Since Mario had been born a few minutes earlier, that fact made him more than a little miffed.

"That was inappropriate back there," complained Luigi, glaring over at his brother sourly. Mario shrugged in response, hiding an amused smirk.

Mario sniffed the city air, and smiled deeply. He had always loved Toad Town. The smell of freshly burning wood came from a homely restaurant down the street, which always had warm fire crackling and delicious hot cocoa ready. It was Mario's favorite place to go in the midst of winter, which was approaching quickly. He would have to head over there as soon as it became a bit too cold outside.

Mario glanced towards the street corner, which hid the blinding sunlight from his view. With his attention focused on the street corner, it was very easy for him to notice three different figures strolling up to him and his brother.

"Oh! Hey!" Mario shouted cheerfully, waving to the three royal siblings. Toad's lips made a faint smile, Peach beamed and waved back, and Toadette rolled her eyes and looked away, blowing a thin bubble of pink gum.

"What are you all doing here?" Luigi asked in wonder, as the trio approached close enough so that they were directly in front of the twin brothers.

"I'm just making sure that Mario wasn't late for the meeting we're having with the king today," answered Toad, glaring at Mario sharply. "I knew he would probably get distracted somehow and laze around for an hour or two."

"Hey! I'm totally focused!" Mario spat, a slight scowl set on his cheeks. Toad chuckled in amusement and ruffled his hair; Mario sidestepped the prince, annoyed.

"Yeah, and we're meeting with Donkey Kong's team and…um…what's-his-name's team, too," Peach said matter-of-factly to her teammate.

"Bowser Koopa's team. We're meeting with Bowser Koopa's team." Toad corrected his sister, smirking. "And Luigi and Toadette's team."

Peach scoffed in response. "What's-his-name, Bowser Koopa…what's the difference, really?"

Mario stifled his laughter, and Toad shook his head and held his face in his hands, moaning. His sister, though sweet, had become an airhead. She claimed that she was "maturing", and when Toad tried to tell her that people don't get stupider with age, she hit him. Just as she did Mario.

"Don't laugh at me, you pig!" yelled Peach, as Mario rubbed his red left cheek. "Don't you know how to treat a lady, dunce!"

"Yes…" grumbled Mario, his mouth a grim line. Toad sighed heavily and gestured to the both of them to come on. Luigi and Toadette, who had remained silent for the whole conversation, stood on the sidewalk awkwardly as the team walked off. However, things turned from awkward to chilling once a certain three people walked by.

The trio was led by a man with a well-groomed red beard and spiky red hair, and he bore hungry yellow eyes like that of a wolf. His skin was somewhat scaly, almost like a crocodile's, and he wore a good-looking grey suit. He glanced over at Luigi and Toadette as he walked by, smirking charmingly at them. Luigi eyed him nervously, but Toadette's attention was turned towards a stranger duo.

Following behind him were two teenage boys that were assumedly his students. The first was one of the creepiest guys Toadette had ever seen, with ghostly silver hair and red blood smeared around his lips, which were curled up in a slightly disturbing smile. He wore all black, with a basic black t-shirt with a flaming skull on it and black jeans. His eyes were blood red like the substance around his mouth, and were looking sideways at Toadette in a very eerie way. She glanced at the other one beside this creepo.

The second one had snow white hair that reached the base of his neck and a very light, pale shade of blue cradled inside his eyes. He wore baggy white sweatpants and a baggy white sweatshirt, with a red, simplistically drawn bat situated in the center of it. His face was quite stoic and showed almost no expression, and he seemed very skinny judging by his thin face. Then Toadette looked at his limply-hung hands and recoiled. His skin clung so tightly to his bones that he was like a skeleton, with a thin layer of pale flesh concealing his bones.

Luigi was still focused on the large, barrel-chested leader, who could not take his wolfish eyes off of Luigi. His squinting and confused expression made it seem like he had seen Luigi somewhere before, and was just trying to make out exactly who he was in his memory…

The skeleton-like student tapped on his teacher's shoulder, and the man was swift in flipping his head around and engaging in whispered conversation with the two boys as they turned the corner.

Suddenly, Yoshi came running up lightning fast, panting like he had just run a marathon.

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late," said Yoshi, giving them a weak thumbs-up and grin. "Let's get going to the castle. Did anything interesting happen?"

As they began trotting down the sidewalk in a different direction, happening to know a shortcut, Luigi and Toadette answered simultaneously with, "I…don't really know."

* * *

Mario stood clustered with Peach and Toad, tapping his foot impatiently. Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadette had managed to get to the throne room before them, but the other two teams that they were to meet with; Bowser Koopa's team and Donkey Kong's team; were late. Plus, the king himself had not reported on time, as he was still in a meeting with the royal councilors. Mario found it all quite annoying, really.

"Gosh, what's wrong with these people?" Mario asked irritably, looking back at the main doors into the throne room. "They've been keeping us waiting for so long that now all I wanna do is punch them!"

"Don't lose your temper," Toad said gruffly to Mario. "What do you want to do, make a bad impression with these people? Don't snap at them as soon as they get here."

Mario turned his head away to the ground and mumbled something quietly. Peach sighed and stared at him, slight worry in her expression. For whatever reason, Mario had been acting different lately. He wasn't so happy-go-lucky anymore, even though he retained his quick temper and lack of direction. It didn't help that sometimes she got weak in the knees when Mario looked at her with that cynical face. Perhaps both of them were changing…

"HEY HEY! We're here! Ooh, this is so exciting, I tell you, E-X-C-I-T-I-N-G, EXCITING! AW YEAH!" a squeaky, hyper voice shouted, running up to where the two teams were gathered in front of the throne and skidding to a stop. He was a small boy with a bright face and cute brown eyes. His hair was brown and wild, and he wore a red t-shirt with stars on it with baggy brown pants.

"Diddy! Little buddy, calm down, calm down!" a deep, ape-like voice boomed. A large man with huge muscles and hairy arms came stumbling up, looking at Diddy sternly. His face was simple and stupid and he had a very large jaw. His eyes were deep pools of blue and he wore a striped polo shirt and brown cargo pants. Luigi was amused by the both of them, thinking of them as an ape and a chimp.

Then, a girl with long orange hair that draped her shoulders came walking up quietly, right behind the two monkeys. She held a bamboo wooden staff and wore a simple kimono that had a colorful flower pattern on it. She had beautiful blue eyes and had pretty, fair skin. She stood beside the monkey men, waiting patiently.

"Uh…hi!" Luigi greeted cheerfully, waving to this new girl. He had seen Gorilla Man and Chimp Lad around Toad Town before, but had never noticed this kimono-wearing enigma around, and so he thought it proper to say hello.

The girl glanced over at him casually, but quickly looked away, showing no expression or emotion.

"HIIIIIII!" Chimp Lad yelled, waving happily to Luigi. Luigi waved at him weakly, but his attention was focused on this orange-haired girl. It was strange to explain, but she intrigued him. She showed no reaction to his greeting, she wore odd attire, and her eyes were rather pretty. He had never seen someone quite like her.

While Luigi was transfixed on this girl for a short time, he barely noticed when the three from earlier came striding in, the red-haired man at the front holding his head up high. He held up a hand in greeting to Donkey Kong, AKA Gorilla Man, and stood beside him with his diligent students.

Yoshi recognized the silver-haired boy from a year ago in the Forest of Flames, and he froze. He also recognized the one who had saved Toad from death, and noticed that he was as bony as ever, with almost no change to his general look other than the red bat on his sweatshirt.

"So sorry I'm late everybody! The councilors wanted to talk for a long while…" King Toadstool said hurriedly, rushing in through a side door and taking his seat on the throne, straightening his silk shirt. Mario sighed heavily and muttered, "It's about time." Toad was about to whisper a scolding to him, but decided to let it go.

"All right. I'm certain you all know that you've been called here for a reason, even if you don't know exactly what that reason is," the king confirmed, looking around at everyone. They all gave a brief, curt nod. "Well, I'll try to keep this as short and simple as possible. We have had problems arising in a rough port town called Rogueport."

"Rogueport?" Mario asked, not bothering to raise his hand or indicate that he had a question to ask. Toad flicked him on the back of the head for this.

"Yes, you see, it's a small dock that is a cozy settling place for vandals and vermin of all shapes and sizes," explained the king, turning his attention to Mario. "I've been there myself, and it's in a rather awful state. But the population and the environment is not what the problems we've been asked to resolve are.

"You see, some shady activity has been observed around the area of Rogueport's sewers. The report has been sent in by one Professor Goombella Skolahr, a known intellectual across the world. She has seen some odd, shadowy thugs coming out of the warp pipes leading to the sewers, and the waste that the pipes sometimes exude has been infected with some sort of black substance. And she thinks that she knows exactly where these problems lie."

"What do you mean by that?" Bowser's bony student asked, with a soft, deadened voice.

"You see, deep within Rogueport's sewers, there is a mystic chamber containing a large gate deemed the Thousand Year Door." King Toadstool informed him, looking grim. "There's a bunch of magical mumbo-jumbo surrounding it, but the point is that behind it, there is most certainly a place entitled the Palace of Shadow resting behind it. The thugs are probably coming from its confines."

"Do we know anything about this Palace of Shadow?" Bowser probed, the tone of an expert persuader in his voice. "Is there any sort of info on it? Why would these dark thugs be coming from it?"

"We don't know much, but one thug has been caught and captured and was spouting something about a Shadow Queen, and the seven Crystal Stars…whatever those are." King Toadstool said cynically to Bowser. "I think it may have been just nonsense, but Miss Skolahr is the one with all the answers. Find her and you'll find what you want to know about all this.

"But, in any case, there is another specific reason that we are performing this exercise," the king told the four teams, grabbing some papers out of his pocket and looking at them in an official sort of way. "You see, I would like a report explaining how all you students act when you are put with different teammates, in a different environment."

Mario was a little taken aback; he had not expected this at all. Put into a different team, with people he barely knew…hopefully he would end up with Luigi somehow.

"King Boo and Diddy Kong have already done this exercise a few months back, so they will be remaining with their respective teachers." King Toadstool shuffled his papers a little, stood up, cleared his throat, and began. "Team 1 is Mario Salastar, King Boo, and Bowser Koopa."

Mario eyed the two he was put with warily, not at all knowing either. As Bowser looked across at him, however, he gasped in realization, widening his eyes to size of dinner plates.

'_I-Impossible!' _Bowser thought, his expression making his shock shine forth. _'The resemblance is even stronger in this one…and the last name…they must be! They're both the sons…of Ricardo Salastar!'_

"Team 2 is Luigi Salastar, Daisy Rosetta, and Toad Toadstool," said the king.

'_Hm…so! The orange-haired wonder girl…I was hoping to be put with her!' _Luigi thought cheerfully, grinning at her as she looked up a little at the king once she heard her name called. _'Maybe I can actually find out who she is…it's so weird that I'm this focused on her, but…this mystique…'_

"Team 3 is Toadette Toadstool, Diddy Kong, and Donkey Kong."

'_What? Don't tell me I'm stuck with those two boneheads…' _moaned Toadette in her thoughts, glaring over at the monkey men with distaste.

'_Ooohh…I'm paired with the pink-haired girl…' _Diddy thought dumbly, looking over at Toadette with a dopey look on his face. _'She's really preeettyyyyyyy…I like being put with her…'_

"Thus, this means that the final team is Dry Bones, Peach Toadstool, and Yoshi Toran."

Peach glanced over at the bony guy and shivered, watching as he casually scratched his back, his eyes looking quite lazy and tired. He looked incredibly freaky due to his hands, as well his very plain, baggy white clothes and snow white hair, despite his young age. Peach personally wasn't a big fan of the fact that she had been paired with him, even though she was fine with Yoshi.

"All right, all of you, a boat is waiting by the docks to transport you to Rogueport," King Toadstool told the group. "I expect all of you to separate into your teams and work together. Your first goal is to find Miss Goombella Skolahr and figure out everything about this assignment. I don't know the full story myself, but I do know that all this adds up to Rogueport being in trouble and that's all that matters to me, and it should be all that matters to you. Anyways, I'm hungry. Good day."

The king resigned himself through the same side door, taking a slow, elegant stride as his path of exit as his cape billowed proudly behind him. He then walked into the door.

Grunting angrily and holding his stubbed toe, he threw the door open and hopped through the open doorway, letting the door close by itself behind him.

_Even though it's long, this first chapter is pretty boring so I hope I didn't drag it on too long for you. The next chapter will probably not have much, if any, action it, but it will at least be a little more exciting. I hope you've at least enjoyed things a little so far! Reviews would be really schweet!_

_~Like you should—oh, wait, stay awesome…but you can stay schweet, too_


	2. A Preview to Illusions

_Thanks for the reviews on last chapter! I'll try to keep the story going well! Now then, enjoy this next chapter._

Just as a sailor began placing down some cargo on the nearby deck of a trading boat, he accidentally dropped the crate he was carrying over the edge of the deck. Toadette shrieked, about to be crushed by the crate, but was pushed out of the way by Diddy. In result, the crate broke apart into various planks of wood harmlessly, allowing the burlap sack of wheat it contained to be shown.

"Aw, man! The boss is gonna get me for that one!" the sailor moaned, gripping the sides of his head as he looked down upon the busted crate.

"Are you okay?" Diddy asked hurriedly, short of breath. Toadette nodded slowly, taking big, deep breaths. That was very frightening, considering the position she had been in. She felt gratitude towards Diddy and promptly thanked him, making him flush a deep red and stutter a, "S'n-n-no p-problem."

Mario stared at the ferry they were to board stoically, watching as the captain made preparations for everyone to come on the ship and go to Rogueport. He was a little confused by this whole ordeal with the Thousand Year Door and the Palace of Shadow, but if all this were the real deal, it may be a chance to really prove himself in Toad's eyes. They had been training nonstop throughout a good majority of the past year, but Toad still believed that his skills were rough around the edges, and his defeat of Dragonahah had been a fluke. Mario was out to disprove him.

Peach stood at his side, brushing her bangs aside as the wind continually kept blowing them into her face. "It feels nice today, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," replied Mario, digging his hands into his pockets. "Windy, though."

Peach nodded awkwardly, pursing her lips as the captain ran onto the deck of the ferry, huffing and puffing.

"All right, all who wish to go to Rogueport, come on!" the captain cried, waving his hand in indication that it was time to leave. "Get on now! I'm lowering the gangway!"

And that he did. Mario slunk into a three-man group with Bowser and King Boo, grimacing a little at the sight of King Boo, who was licking his bloody lips fervently. Bowser was stroking his beard again, a wispy smile spread across his face. He didn't creep Mario out as much as King Boo, but he was up there.

Peach was likewise having a little trouble with Dry Bones. She had absolutely no idea who he was, which was unusual for her. She thought that she knew almost everyone in the kingdom; in fact, she recognized Bowser as the Mushroom Kingdom ambassador to foreign lands. But she had never heard of Dry Bones or King Boo. And that was very confusing to her.

Luigi was perfectly fine as of yet, somewhat anxious to learn more about Daisy and already knowing Toad quite well. He did feel totally clueless pertaining as to what exactly they were supposed to be doing other than find out what exactly they were supposed to be doing from Goombella Skolahr, but that would come with due time.

Finally, Toadette was annoyed by her new teammates. The ape-like Donkey Kong continually picked his nose and Diddy stared at her, creepily and endlessly. She decided for the rest of the journey she would just try and look away and chew gum, and do things when needed.

Mario quickly ascended up the gangway, his feet making loud clomping sounds on the wet pinewood. He looked over at King Boo cautiously. Boo was still licking his lips hungrily, his red eyes fluttering over to the open window in the captain's cabin. Mario was uncomfortable around him. He looked frightening and his mannerisms were unsettling.

They all got onto the deck, and the gangway was raised with much haste. The captain shouted out a quick "ALL ABOARD!" as he glided over to the ship's steering wheel. Mario leaned over the deck's railing, and Luigi stood by him, waving goodbye to their mother, who had been called to see them off for the mission. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief and waved back anxiously, smiling weakly.

The ship then took off, slowly moving away from the docks as the large tumblers turned up foamy water. Mario could smell salty sea air as they left for their destination, excited for the journey ahead. Who knows what surprises this next trip could bring…?

* * *

Mario awoke once he heard the loud, cranky voice of the ship captain calling for him. He leaped out of his cot, quickly changing out of his pajamas and throwing on his regular clothes. He rushed out of his quarters and went through a corridor onto the deck. He noticed that he didn't feel the ship moving beneath him; had they arrived?

Mario went out the door to find a steaming captain awaiting him, his sailor's hat sitting disheveled atop his head, barely covering his tangled white hair.

"We've docked in Rogueport, and I've been waiting to leave for almost an hour! Only two of these fools actually bothered to wait for you! Now get your butt in gear and move!" the captain roared, frightening Mario more than a little. Mario nodded slowly and looked to his side, hoping to see Toad and Peach.

What he got was a silver-haired freak and a suspicious red-haired giant.

"Welcome, Mario!" Bowser clapped his hands together, smiling largely at him. "I know we'll be able to work as a team perfectly! Now, listen, I think we should head to—"

"No time for that, let's get moving." Mario interrupted him, bounding off the deck and down the gangway to the Rogueport docks. Bowser was left standing with his hands clasped together, his eyes closed, and his mouth a dumb grin.

"Come on, let's follow that chucklehead," breathed Boo, thrusting his hands in his pockets and quickly striding down the gangway. Bowser, briefly letting a nasty scowl come to him, followed after him, marching down to the dewy planks of the docks. The captain proceeded to tap his foot impatiently and wait for any passengers, preparing to set off again.

King Boo and Bowser, in the meantime, gave chase to Mario, who was a little disturbed by the sites of Rogueport. Petty thievery could be seen in plain sight, obscene images were spray painted on the wall with graffiti, and a bunch of shady-looking characters were hanging around, eying Mario evilly. Mario didn't like the port town at all, and simply was trying to find someone else in the group they had arrived in. But first off, he ran into a sticky situation.

"Listen, I don't have the map! Now just go away, you creeps!" a feisty voice yelled from around the corner.

Mario quickly peeked around the gray cobblestone wall and saw a young woman sitting on the ground, her dirty blonde hair in a tangled ponytail on her shoulder. She had large black eyes, small glass spectacles that sat on the bridge of her nose, a white lab coat, a simple red blouse, and blue jeans.

Standing across from her were three thugs, two small in red and white jumpsuits, their faces concealed by hoods, and one leader in the center, boasting a cocky grin, spiky red hair, and a purple cape. He had the same jumpsuit on as the goons, but with purples and blacks replacing the reds and whites. He didn't bother wearing the jumpsuit's head, letting his greedy, fat face show in all its glory.

"Heh heh…don't play dumb with us, professor!" the leader shouted, his hands placed triumphantly on his hips. "Are you asking for a beating? 'Cause it sure does look like you are!"

"Listen, pals! If you keep prodding me for this map you're just gonna figure you went out on a wild goose chase for nothing!" spat Goombella, staring at the leader hatefully. "And besides, it's not like you'd want to beat up a little girl like me…"

"Heh heh! You kiddin'?" the leader questioned, grinning devilishly. "I'd GLADLY take the opportunity to smash somebody's face in any day of the week! Now c'mere, girly!"

The young woman gulped as the leader and his lackeys approached her with enthusiasm. Mario was about to rush to the rescue when King Boo suddenly came up, turned the corner, and jumped in the way of the thugs, crouching low on the ground.

"Get outta our way, pretty boy!" shouted one of the grunts. King Boo just smirked up at him, letting his forked tongue dangle out of his mouth. Mario watched in confusion as Bowser, who was standing behind Mario, watched in delight.

"Even one as detestable as I could not bring myself to attack a lady," said Boo, slowly standing up as he stared creepily at the trio. "So, I must punish you all for such a heinous deed…but I don't like physical contact."

Mario was completely taken off guard as red mist floated out of Boo's mouth towards the thugs. "SO we'll try something different. _Bloodlust Illusion._"

The mist then surrounded the small group, and they flipped their heads around, confused by the sight of it. King Boo chuckled evilly as it went down the mouth of one of the white-and-red goons, making them gasp and choke from lack of breath. Then, they saw something unbelievable.

Small, ball-like white ghosts seemed to be slowly approaching him, coming from King Boo. They giggled mischievously and swiftly grabbed the goon by the arms and legs, carrying him away, up into the sky. He screamed and shrieked for help, wiggling about in their grasp insanely. But nobody came.

That's because all anybody saw was a man who belonged in an asylum, screeching and writhing as he lie on the pavement.

The leader and the other goon met the same fate, though the leader seemed slightly more controlled, but still clearly very frightened. Boo was now cackling, loudly and crazily. Mario had no idea what was going on, seeing as he was terrified himself.

"Hee hee…end," whispered Boo, and they all stopped, their faces frozen into terrified expressions. None of them got up, and they barely moved aside from their chests moving up and down from deep breathing. Mario was seriously getting scared now, and he was wondering what exactly Boo had done to them.

The truth was, the illusion had ended with them dropping to the ground and dying. They now didn't even know they were alive and would remain as so for another five minutes.

"Taken care of, ma'am. Would you like a hand?" Boo asked politely to the girl, holding out his hand to her and smiling a sickeningly sweet smile. She was very confused, but slowly nodded and took his hand, letting him pull her up to her feet.

"Uh…thank you, I guess," she said unsurely, and he just nodded and let go of her hand. _'Well, at least he's nice,' _thought Mario.

"Oh! You guys are from the Mushroom Kingdom, aren't you?" the young woman asked as she turned and faced Mario and Bowser, who had come out from around the corner once some guy threatened to knife them if they didn't get out of his way.

"Uh, yeah, we are," said Mario, looking her over skeptically. Was this who they were looking for?

"Okay, then you need to come with me! You wouldn't believe what I've got to show you, kid!" she yelled, grabbing Mario by the hand and running down the street, dragging him along. But was she Ms. Skolahr? "My name's Goombella Skolahr!" Okay, then.

King Boo and Bowser quickly followed after them, with the thugs still left in crumpled positions on the street. And so it began…

_Hopefully you enjoyed that chapter. Well, thanks for reading this pitiful tale! Reviews would be awesome!_

_~Like you should keep staying_


	3. Gallows

Mario tried to keep up with the hyper Goombella Skolahr, but it was very difficult. She was gripping his hand tightly and dragging him through the concourses of people pushing against them. King Boo followed somewhere behind, while Bowser had somehow gotten ahead of them, taking a lengthy stride through the crowd, periodically looking back at Goombella and Mario to make sure they were still behind him.

Soon enough, they reached a large set of stone stairs, and Mario almost slipped out of Goombella's grasp and fell to his death near the top. Luckily, Goombella reinforced her hold so he wouldn't slip, and she hurried back up the last few stairs, and they came into the town square.

This was a lively center of events in Rogueport, and it was apparent right off the bat. Many more esteemed, less suspicious characters were walking around, going about their daily business. Colorful, light posters were emblazoned across the cobblestone walls, breaking up the monotone shades of black and gray. There was a…gallows? A gallows right in the center of town? What in the…?

"Oh no! Looks like an execution! We better get out of here!" gushed Goombella, dragging Mario away and trying to stop him from staring at the gallows. But he stood solemn, stopping her in mid-run, as he watched while two tough Doogan thugs dragged a small Pianta to the gallows, smug looks on their faces. The Pianta looked very worried and conflicted, grunting and grumbling while he dragged to the scary-looking noose. Mario gulped; he knew what was coming, but could not stop watching.

"Ladies and gentleman!" declared the stronger-looking Doogan, standing on the stool of the gallows while his partner tied the Pianta into the noose. "As you can see, this is a no-good, dirty rotten, stupid servant of Don Pianta! That's right, the gangster scum that's ruining this town with his industrialization! We're gonna show him what happens when you mess with the town Ishnail set up; yer cronies get the boot! Ha ha!"

Mario was horrified while everyone around him just watched nonchalantly, like this happened regularly. The Doogans assembled next to each other again, the poor Pianta raised into the air as he tried to get out of the noose. The non-speaking Doogan smirked evilly as he prepared to drop the hung rope…

"NO!" screamed Mario, and he broke out of Goombella's grip, pulling his arm back and rushing towards the Doogans. Goombella watched in shock as Mario was about to attack the Doogans, fire gathering around his arm…

The speaking, more commanding Doogan pulled a pistol out of his pocket, frantically shooting at Mario. Mario jumped to the side to avoid the bullet and jumped at the Doogan, extending his fist and screeching, "FIERY FIST!"

Just as Mario was about to land a hit, the Doogan trio froze into solid ice, and someone undid the noose keeping the poor Pianta bound. The Pianta swiftly ran away for dear life, screaming. Mario looked behind the block of ice to see a familiar face.

"Peach!" Mario cried, giving her a light smile. She returned it with a smile of her own as Dry Bones eyed him from afar, looking bored. Yoshi grinned and saluted Mario in greeting.

* * *

The two groups joined each other as Goombella led the way, looking very brazen and excited. King Boo and Dry Bones stuck to the shadows and chatted quietly, with Boo constantly giving sinister looks at Goombella's back. Luckily, nobody noticed him, and soon enough they reached Goombella's small house.

"Ah! Here we are!" exclaimed Goombella, standing in front of the door and fumbling for a key. "Er, let's see, now where'd I put that thiiiiing…" She lit up as she snatched it out of her pocket and swiftly unlocked the door. She ran inside, and everyone followed suit.

"All right! Now, close the door behind you! Nobody can hear us!" ordered Goombella, pointing sternly to Dry Bones, who had entered without shutting the door. He shrugged nonchalantly and closed it.

"Well…I bet you've all been wondering why you're here in Rogueport," breathed Goombella, sighing deeply and leaning up against her wooden wall. "Well, let me explain. We are dealing with one of the biggest threats of all time. The world may face incredible disaster if we don't do something."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Back up!" shouted Mario, gritting his teeth. "What the heck are you talking about? Incredible disaster? I thought we were just gonna beat around some group of shady thugs! The only reason there's so many of us is because there's so many of them!"

"Well…you may have led yourself to think that, but thugs is VERY far from the true intentions of you all coming here," said Goombella. Mario did not stop glaring at her as she continued on, "In any case, the main issue is the Thousand-Year Door. Or, more specifically, what's behind it."

"What's the Thousand-Year Door?" questioned Yoshi, raising an eyebrow.

"The Thousand-Year Door is an enormous gate created for the purposes of sealing up an even more enormous evil," replied Goombella, gulping and shivering a little. "It…was created by four adventurers, using the power of seven special items. That was two thousand years ago. Then in another one thousand years, the seal broke and the evil came forth anew. An even braver adventurer and seven helpers of his defeated the evil and sealed it up yet again. Seeing a pattern?"

"Not really. That's just two things," snorted Mario. Peach slapped him.

"…Well, here's the deal," Goombella went on, regaining her composure. "Every one thousand years, the seal breaks yet again. It's only happened twice, but that's enough to notice it. And this month…is the one thousandth anniversary of the last time the seal broke through."

Everyone was silent, as an ominous, gloomy feeling came over. What was this great evil? What was going to happen if it was released? How could they face up to it? Could they face up to it at all? Mario put the latter three out of his mind fearfully and asked the first question.

"…The…Palace of Shadow," whispered Goombella. Mario barely heard her, and asked her to explain. She gulped yet again and replied.

"A nest of shadowy combinations, secret dealings, and vile servants...all led by a wicked queen with the world's darkest heart...that, my friends, is the Palace of Shadow."

It went silent again, and it was a much longer silence this time. King Boo wasn't even smiling creepily, like usual. Normally, if this story were told by some wacko off the street, it would be very easily seen as fake and cheesy. And of course, if she were a little dirtier-looking, you could classify Goombella as a wacko off the street. But…it was told with such clear fear in mind that it was easy to believe. Very easy.

"…So, the main threat is the queen? Or am I wrong?" Peach asked in confusion, biting her lip. Goombella nodded slowly, crossing her arms.

"Well, the queen's main servants were abolished a thousand years back, but the thugs indicate that she has gathered new ones," explained Goombella. "The only reason I know all this is because my ancestors were involved in both ordeals of the Palace of Shadow. I've not only noticed strange dark beasts prowling around in the sewers, but almost mindless thugs can be spotted coming out of the warp pipes at night. I have no clue what they do, but they all come back in about twenty minutes, carrying a huge duffel bag. It's very off to me."

Mario raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. He didn't see how any of this added up. No matter how real it sounded, she was probably a schizophrenic or something. These must have been hallucinations.

Of course, he didn't express these feelings out loud, but blunter figures in the room didn't mind repressing their thoughts.

"Well, why should we believe you?" King Boo asked. He had gone back to smiling maliciously. Goombella stared at him with something of a perturbed look. She was obviously caught off guard by his appearance.

"Ugh…I knew this question would be asked," moaned Goombella, holding her hand to her forehead. King Boo smirked and licked his lips, narrowing his eyes.

"Shouldn't be a hard question to answer," he said, widening his smirk. "Don't you have any kind of solid proof or an object that can prove these tall tales?"

"…I do, but it's somewhat disturbing." Goombella coughed uncomfortably, looking to the side. Mario looked to where her eyes were pointed, and he saw a large brown box among the disheveled stacks of books on her shelves.

"Show us," breathed Boo merrily.

Goombella shook her head and sighed, mumbling something under her breath. She dove for the big brown box, yanking it off the shelf and, with minor difficulty, heaving it up to a worktable. She hesitated to open it, but ultimately did. She let everybody look inside with a wobbly expression on her face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Peach shrieked, stumbling backwards and nearly passing out.

A cold, clammy dead body was stuffed roughly inside the box.

_Yeah…sort of a creepy ending there. But, hey, was it enjoyable? I would definitely say it was short, and not one of my best, but how much did you enjoy it? Tell me in a review, which I would enjoy tons!_

_~Stay awesome_


End file.
